you probably should never... [a list].

Now that the Olympics are over, I can crawl out of my shell and begin to see the light again.

So I will write a list:

Things you should probably never do

You probably should never...
Underestimate anybody. Whether it is yourself or other people, likely there is a story there. Most often with others, the case is that you don't know there story so you really don't know what they are capable of. This actually can apply to Olympians, when I think about it, because a lot of people see what Olympians are doing, and assume that they can do the same thing with the same skill to get to the games. No. Even curlers have been perfecting their craft for 13 years. 

You probably should never...
Let your laundry sit in the dryer. I feel this is self-explanatory.

You probably should never...
Put off cleaning. Also self-explanatory, but especially relevant when you have guests coming. This is funny because my mom likes to remind me of how when my brother and I were little, we'd always ask who was coming to visit when she would ask us to clean.

You probably should never...
Lose touch with good friends. I feel like I can argue this point, having graduated and moved away from college. Some people like to act as though I no longer exist. I have made new friends. I keep in touch with the good friends that build me up and keep in touch. Some are lifelong friends. Don't lose those people. You'll miss them.

You probably should never...
Stay angry. Just don't do it. Besides the fact that it's really unbecoming to be angry, it's also not really healthy. Seriously. It's been proven that happier people live longer!

You probably should never... 
Settle for less. This really is based on your own personal preferences, but it can be true on so many levels. Don't lower your standards for someone else. Your standards are important to you for a reason. This also might mean that you should spend a little more on the toilet paper you're used to. I recently learned that this is not something to mess with.


You probably should never...
Forget to smile. Common sense!

You probably should never...
Lose touch with the world. In a generation where we are linked in constantly (social medias, websites, etc.) there is no real reason to not know what's going on in the world. Even if you don't have a TV, you should at least visit one news website a day, just so you know about global issues. People will start to wonder about you if you don't even know about a natural disaster five days after the fact. This leads me to my next point...

You probably should never...
Be afraid to drop off the map. I don't mean literally. But take a break from your phone or your instant messaging or just generally letting everyone know what you're doing. Twitter and Facebook make this pretty impossible sometimes, but people don't need to know if you're making a sandwich or working on your homework. Boring! You don't have to give everyone updates on every little thing you do. Likely it's expected and people don't really need to read your status to confirm it. It's okay to take sometime to yourself and be invisible for a while.

And finally,

You probably should never...  
Put it off til tomorrow. Whatever "it" may be. Maybe it's a trip or some item that you've been putting off, but there's no time like the present. Especially if you're like me and you don't have to answer to anybody else...but don't put off til tomorrow what you can get done today. No regrets.

I like lists, so you'll probably see more, but this is just something I was thinking about. Are there things that you would add to this list? What do you think you probably should never do?

i'm in love.

On this Valentine's Day, I spent the day with the love of my life - the Olympic Games.

I am not in Vancouver, but all I have done all day is watch hour after hour of coverage on TV. Go World. Go USA.

However, though I love the Olympic Games, that is not the point of this post, and that's not the only thing I'm in love with this weekend.

I spent two full days at coaching and race director symposiums for my job. I sat in presentations and listened to keynote speeches by Johan Bruyneel and Erik Weihenmayer. I talked to coaches and race directors who were attending said symposiums and were thilled - they love what they do.

It made me feel lucky that I am doing what I want to do. Especially with all the Olympic hoopla getting started. This is what I've always wanted to be a part of, even if I didn't realize it. If you think about how things work out in your life, kind of how they are meant to, you'll see that you're doing what you were meant to be a part of as well. Maybe not right away. But you'll get there.

I have newspaper clippings from the 1996 Games in Atlanta. In a scrapbook. I wrote and illustrated a story as a ten-year-old about a young ten-year-old swimmer who miraculously made it to the Olympic Games for swimming (ironically, this is when I started swimming competitively). I have VHS tapes, which are quickly wearing out due to rewinds and fast forwarding, from the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. I believe I have 2008 somewhere. I think those are in Michigan. Since 2000, I have idolized Bob Costas. I dreamed of making it to the Olympic Games myself, as a participant, quickly realizing I don't have the athletic prowess to get me there. I job-shadowed a sport journalist in my junior year of high school. My degree options in college bounced from journalism to public relations to communications before finally settling on sport managerment. I finally met someone who worked for the U.S. Olympic Committee who told me that I had what it took to work for the Olympic Movement. I was just what they were looking for. And then I got my internship. Right at the perfect time, right when I applied for it.

The pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

This weekend I realized (again) that this is where I am supposed to be. I interviewed people. I provided quotes for press releases. I met people that I had spoken to on the phone prior to the weekend, people who were being honored for their achievements in the sport of triathlon by their induction into our hall of fame. I met people who changed the sport of triathlon - by creating an event series, which turned into the creation of what is now known as the Olympic distance triathlon; by meeting with members of the IOC to get triathlon on the Olympic program; by pushing the limits of what was thought to be possible as an athlete; by becoming an Olympian, and then continuing to give back to the sport as a coach and "talent scout" for future potential Olympians. Fantastic people who basically impacted the sport to a point that lead to to where it is today.

One of the inductees admitted that he was determined to make it to the Olympics. He tried as an athlete - first in swimming and then in water polo - and narrowly missed each time. He then was connected with the right person and together they created a triathlon series that had the potential to go international. It did. This guy is awesome. And I saw that I am like him. He had a dream and made it happen.

I guess I'm trying to say that I am lucky because every day I feel inspired. I love the job I get to do, the people I get to meet, and most of all, that it's acceptable that I am an Olympic fanatic (to the extreme!) just because it's actually part of my job.

Don't give up on a dream you have, just because it seems out of reach. It's probably not as unlikely as you may think.

Olympic Update
In a previous post, I listed websites you could visit to find news on the Olympic Games. In the same vein, I'd just like to give you a few Twitter accounts to follow if you'd like to have all your news available in an aggregate format:

International Olympic Committee: @olympics
Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC): @2010tweets
U.S. Olympic Committee: @USOlympic
Figure Skaters Online: @fsonline
Universal Sports: @universalsports
Around the Rings: @aroundtherings
Gazette (COS newspaper) Olympics: @gazetteolympics
NBC Olympics: @NBCOlympics
Olympic Fan Focus (via NBC): @OlympicFanFocus

If you don't have a Twitter account, now is a great time to get one!

AMAZING AWAITS!

so you say you want a job...

I was checking a personal email account while at home for lunch today, and saw this:

10 Things to Leave Off Your Résumé

Now, some of this seems pretty common sense. Don't put a picture with your resume, unless you're in a field that calls for it (like theater). Don't list your hobbies, especially those unrelated to your career interests. Don't litter your resume with spelling errors. 

Except...as common sense as those things seem, would you believe that I've seen resumes with those things before? I actually was privy to resumes sent in for the same internship I did. Someone thought that because it was an Olympic-related internship, he needed to send body-builder photos of himself. Seriously. Muscle shots, for a job.

So I was thinking. I enjoy reading resumes and cover letters, because I feel like my application materials have been pretty decent. I've read them for my friends. 

Here are my three tips for applying for a job: 

1. Make a "brand" for yourself. This doesn't have to mean that you're spending money on expensive stationary, but keep your look consistent. If you're going to have a header on the top of your resume, why not use it for your cover letter? You care about your resume - show people that!

2. Show your passion. Everyone who is applying for the job you're applying for has similar skills - otherwise they wouldn't be applying for that particular position. Why do you want the job? Why does it fit your interests? I have a friend who has worked in baseball exclusively. She wants to continue her career in baseball, if possible. She has specific reasons why she has enjoyed working for a baseball organization. Personally, I think she should put those reasons in her cover letter. Not all in one chunk, but sprinkled throughout the letter and mixed with her skills. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you'll want to. 

3. Ask for help. Some of my favorite cover letters are letters that I had input on, from a friend. If you want to pay for help, go for it. But likely, you have a friend or two who have been successful in their own job hunting pursuits who would be happy to help, or you have another friend (like me) who likes to edit and will peruse your letter (and resume) for errors that you may not catch at first glance. 

You can do what you'd like as far as writing cover letters, updating your resume, and whatever else. But definitely make yourself stand out, somehow, in a positive way. Negative attention won't get you a job. And definitely research the place you're applying to, if you really want that job. That way, if you are asked questions about the company during your interview, you can answer with a confident, well-thought out answer, not something you think of on the fly. Plus, it looks better if you address your letter to someone, instead of just writing "To whom it may concern." Put the time and effort into your job hunt - it will show.

That's the last thing - be confident. Maybe you're not 100 percent qualified, but who knows what the hiring person is looking for. It might just be you!